Since Sunday December 1 and the surprise resignation of Carlos Tavares, Stellantis no longer has a general manager. His successor was to be known at the beginning of 2025 but a first name is emerging unofficially today.
After the surprise announcement of his resignation from the position of general manager of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares inevitably triggered quite a fight to find his successor. Because a group of 15 brands, this sprawling, without a captain at the helm, would have quickly drifted away in these troubled times for the global automobile market.. If his succession was already open due to the end of his contract in 2026, names such as Jean-Philippe Imparato – the boss of Stellantis Europe –, Antonio Filosa (director of Jeep and activities in North America) or even Olivier François (CEO of Fiat and Abarth), who until now had been rumored to take the helm of Stellantis, have suddenly been placed at the bottom of the list. According to our often well-informed colleagues from Corriere della Serra, it is Luca who would be considered to succeed John Elkann, interim CEO. Not Luca De Meo, current boss of Renault – also regularly cited – but Luca Maestri, vice-president of Apple on leave.
Carlos Tavares' huge jackpot from Stellantis
A little car and then that's it
If he began his career in the automotive world, at General Motors for the activity in Asia, this 61-year-old Italian then turned to other worlds rather in the world of “tech”, at Nokia/Siemens or Xerox. In the Apple group since 2013 but at the end of his mission with the American giant, Maestri is therefore not a profile resulting from internal training with a large manufacturer. But managing an automobile group, especially involving budgetary arbitrations and strategic decisions, does not necessarily require having cut your teeth there. In addition, Luca Maestri can put forward Italian origins which would please the Agnelli family, majority shareholder (14%) of the Stellantis group and currently represented by John Elkann. Stellantis, for its part, refused to comment on this information reported by Reuters. The choice of Carlos Tavares' replacement was originally supposed to take place “at the beginning of 2025”.
